Pasco deputies arrest man they say shot at one of own

Pasco deputies last night arrested a 33-year-old man they say tried to shoot one of their own Monday night.

Theofohilus Himber Burns, of 37330 Oak St., was arrested around 6:30 p.m. without incident, said sheriff's office spokesman Kevin Doll.

After the alleged shooter's identity was given to deputies during read-offs Wednesday as their shifts began, a deputy driving in the area of 15th and Oak streets spotted a man fitting Burns' description sitting on the steps of a home with a woman.

The deputy met a Dade City Police sergeant, who was in the area, and together the pair went to confront the man. The sergeant, according to Doll, asked the man his name. The man identified himself as Burns and he was arrested in connection to the incident Monday night.

About 10:30 that night, Deputy Steven Napoleon responded to a call of shots fired near Acorn Loop and 14th Street. When he arrived in the low-income apartment complex, Napoleon got out of his cruiser to confront a Burns who was walking down the street.

Burns, according to authorities, pointed a gun at the deputy, who jumped in his patrol car and started backing away. He fired one shot directly at him and then ran away, Napoleon was not injured.

At the time, deputies didn't know Burns by name but publicly released his name yesterday asking for help locating him.

Burns was considered armed and dangerous.

Fifteen years ago, Burns shot a 24-year-old man after the pair argued over comments one of them made about a woman. Curtis Earl collapsed after being shot four times outside a home in Dade City on June 30, 1994. Burns turned himself in to detectives at the scene. He had a gun in his back pocket.

Burns spent four years in prison on the manslaughter conviction. He was released from a minimum-security facility on Oct. 1, 1998, according to state prison records.

Burns is being held without bail at the Land O' Lakes Jail on an attempted felony murder charge.